Nanostructured materials exhibit attractive mechanical properties that are often superior to the performance of their coarse-grained counterparts. However, one major drawback is their low ductility, which limits their potential applications. In this paper, different strategies to obtain both high strength and enhanced ductility in nanostructured materials are reported for Ti-base and Zr-base alloys. The first approach consists of designing an in-situ composite microstructure containing ductile bcc or hop dendrites that are homogeneously dispersed in a nanostructured matrix. The second approach is related to refining the eutectic structure of a Ti-Fe-Sn alloy. For all these materials, the microstructure, mechanical properties, deformation and fracture mechanisms will be discussed.

Nanostructured or partially amorphous Al-and Zr-based alloys are attractive candidates for advanced high-strength lightweight materials. Such alloys can be prepared by quenching from the melt or by powder metallurgy using mechanical attrition techniques. This work focuses on mechanically attrited powders and their consolidation into bulk specimens. Selected examples of mechanical deformation behavior are presented, revealing that the properties can be tuned within a wide range of strength and ductility as a function of size and volume fraction of the different phases.